Happy sunny Friday! I hope you all have plans for a lovely weekend. We have worked hard this week, and I think all are happy to be heading into the weekend.

In math this week, we continued to learn about factors and multiples. We practiced a variety of comparison problems (some of which really required us to think about division) and discussed prime numbers as well. Next week we will move into finding factors of 100 and the multiples of 100. You'll see that work reflected in the worksheets that come home.

In reading, we worked a lot on what it means to "retell" versus "summarize." We also discussed other things we could write about when jotting ideas (who are characters are, what traits they have, etc.) Finally, we learned about synthesizing -- making connections between events in the book and previous events. This sort of thinking about books is new for fourth graders, and I love watching them make these connections and deepen their comprehension.

I was ready to move full-steam ahead into our first writing unit but decided to take a pause until we are all here together. Instead, we spent time this week discussing the elements of a friendly letter. I am  hoping this will make the weekly letter writing a little easier. Next week we will tackle sentences structure (with some diagramming!) and paragraph writing. That should help the students a lot as they begin our first unit.

This week's science was all about the scientific process and constants versus variables. Be sure to ask your children what they learned about balsamic versus white vinegar and about food coloring and hot water! I hope to continue doing fun labs like this at school for a few weeks so that we all understand the process and how so much of it comes from questions.

Finally, in social studies this week we learned about using our "social filter." We discussed the role of filters  in general (for coffee, in pools, etc.) and the discussed how our brain can filter our thoughts before they come out of our mouths. Our thoughts belong to us and we can think whatever we want, but we need to think and pause before letting them come out of our mouths! We ask ourselves if they are truthful, helpful, and kind. If the answer to any one those is no, we don't say them! 

That's all for this week. Enjoy your weekend, and as always, feel free to be in touch with questions. It's a team effort!